Relaxation
Trip Start
Jun 22, 2008
1
19
36
Trip End
Jul 31, 2008
Gulu,
Uganda
Friday, July 11, 2008
out as such. Since I had no class today I decided to attend Sacred Heart's
celebration with Sarah. During this time, students were promoted while former
students were invited back to celebrate the process. As do all ceremonies in Uganda,
the procession started with performing mass. Since mass was scheduled for 8:30
am we decided to arrive at 10:30 (hoping mass would be complete). However, when
we arrived at 10:30 am mass had NOT EVEN STARTED! Oh no! While there were some
cultural relics preserved during mass, mass was mainly a boring Western
tradition performed to stamp out creativity (my OBVIOUS bias is showing
through)
Beautiful
. I got some extra shut eye when the priest started. Thirty minuteslater I was awoken by "AY YAY YAY YAY!" Apparently this was only intermission
since after the procession made its way down the aisle, the priest started up
again! No!! Round 2? Sarah was becoming restless as well. We decided we would
make a run for it. Before the priest could utter another sentence, Sarah and I
darted for the door. We were clear!! Yes!
We elected to go into town for lunch and beers (a great
alternative I must say). We had lunch at a place we should have been
frequenting every day- Kope Café! The food here is amazing! Why is it so
amazing you ask? Because it is an icon of "non- staple" foods. You can actually
get a steak sandwich! After ordering, Sarah and I dialogued on a multitude of
topics (mainly sex)
Ugandan Catholicism
. Our food arrived 30 minutes later. I felt like we wereeating at Friday's. A beautiful steak sandwich and fries awaited me! After the
meal I felt amazing!
Allison met us towards the end of our meal and insisted
we go to KSP for drinks. Given this was our original plan we had no objections.
As we walked out the door however, Ashley and Phil were just arriving. Oh no!
While we really liked the two, we knew we could not have our weekly candid
conversation with their presence. There would be topics that were off limits.
We had to think fast. We insisted they eat at Kope Café and meet us later. This
didn't work. Ashley pleaded that she was not hungry, and Phil was in no place
to make an overriding decision
World's youngest pastor
. We inquired if they had errands to run. Theyresponded by saying they could "do the errands later." Damn it! Anything but
join at Kope. Phil came to the rescue when remembering he did have one or two
things to do in town- this provided the perfect escape. We insisted they join
us at KSP later... Perfect! We were able to have our conversation and be cordial
to Phil and Ashley in the process.
Our conversation had no theme. We discussed whatever came
to mind. The main topic was of course men. J
This was one area in which we all shared equal interest.
Phil and Ashley arrived 30 minutes later. This was a
perfect time to transition our conversation into a more serious realm. We
discussed major turning points in our lives and our "top three" list of things
important to us. This was one of the most memorable conversations I have had on
the trip. Everybody was very open and honest and you could feel the love in the
room.
At 6 pm we left KSP and headed to the IC house to discuss
another article. This article is definitely not worth mentioning. In my mind,
if you have read one article you have read them all. They are all very one
sided. Colonialism was awful and Africa is now desolate of hope. The article
also presents problems without offering solutions. Frankly I am quite sick of
theoretical ramblings with little practical application. The author probably
holds some PHD therefore affording him the right to dictate rhetorical jargon
that finishes exactly where it started. On the other hand perhaps he is doing
some good? All in all, a bunch of Westerners sitting around a table and
"talking about change" is not going to make change happen. I looked forward to
my digging in the field with James tomorrow- perhaps this willingness to
embrace an important part of his culture will make him more receptive t0
embracing integral parts of mine.
We boda'd back to the IC house an hour later to find a
warm meal awaiting us. Apparently Sarah's students from Sacred Heart had taken
the time to cook an elaborate dinner. There were a variety of local dishes.
Yes! Two nights in a row of good food. My mood mirrored contentment.
Post dinner I updated my journal, listened to music and
jumped into bed. I looked forward to tomorrow where I would begin the day in
the fields like a true African!!
